In their words: “Crossing the Alps was the perfect tour for us to celebrate 15 years of Geocaching. It combined everything that is geocaching in its core: love for nature, the love of the game, and an overwhelming sense of community.”

But the journey was not without challenges. Benny reports: “On the 7 legs of the trail we walked 10-11 hours daily […] We climbed more than 32,000 feet of elevation with our 30 lb backpacks. Even when our feet hurt badly, we wedged them back into our hiking boots and kept going. […] Especially during the ascent we had to conquer our weaker selves daily. […] We kept going step by step through gravel, boulder fields, mud, and snow. Often we’d get cramps in our calves which slowed us down some more. Mentally you start searching for a way out when you know there is only one way: to keep going.”

Despite all the danger and exhaustion, geocaching in the Alps was an incredibly unforgettable adventure for the three geocachers. But it was hard: “Really, really hard,” says Benny. “Our “road trip” across the Alps has proven again for us that geocaching leads you to places you would have never seen without. Geocaching has also provided us unforgettable memories we will remember for a long time. For example, “Transalp Similaun Hütte 3019m (GCY5Y7)” where at 10,000 feet the cold had our teeth chattering. We had to get blankets from an emergency storage to be able to log the cache. Or when we found Fernwanderweg E5 – 01 – Los geht’s (GC1F5KV) and Benny got an electric shock on the buttocks when logging too close to a pasture fence.”

Despite their sore feet and shocked behind, there’s one thing the three friends agree on: without geocaching they probably would have never gotten the idea to embark on this kind of adventure. The reward was a set of amazing experiences they will never forget.